A tale of two hot dogs

I love a good hot dog. Not a dressed up 'were trying to be cool' high end hot dog, just a simple, everyday hot dog. Don't know why, I just do. Maybe it's a genetic thing.

My mom is originally from Easton, PA where they have a hot dog that is hands down everyone's favorite and has been for many decades. Actually, it's been a favorite even after moving locations multiple times. As a kid, I used to go to Jimmy's when it was at its Delaware River location(I'd like a table for 2 please at James on the Delaware) and get her 'taste of home' every time we visited the area. Jimmy's has since moved to a shopping mall just off of Route 22 and it's only now that I'm older that I have a full appreciation for what they do. You see, they only do hot dogs. You walk in and the guy behind the counter simply asks 'how many?' and 'with everything?'. That's it. You can get a bag of chips or a soda if you want, but their business is hot dogs and business is good. A Jimmy dog consists of the following. A steamed/roasted hot dog, mustard, onions, a full sized pickle spear and bun. The bun is steamed and I would bet a large chunk of $$$ that the hot dogs and bun have met up with beer somewhere along the way. Just a guess, but I've eaten quite a few of these dogs. I actually used to alter my route home from the CIA simply to have a few hot dogs from Jimmy's. There is something very special about the steamed goodness that lives inside those cellophane wrappers. By the way, there is a very specific way they wrap up the hot dogs for you and it hasn't changed for as long as I can remember. This is just a great hot dog.


OK, so let's remember that I'm Hanover born and bred.....so is my dad. As you can imagine, Hanover has its own claim to hot dog fame. There are not many things that make me as happy as two hot dogs with everything and a fry with chili. Don't know how to explain it, it just makes me smile. That smell. Those onions. I could go on and try to describe the taste sensation, but I have to just back away from the computer and say that if you've never had one, you should come to Hanover and try it. AND, if you have had a hot dog with everything and don't like it, then you have the palate of a donkey's backside. Plain and simple. Oh, for the true Hanoverians who are going to ask me if I'm a Famous or Texas guy, well let's put it simply. There is only one true hot dog with everything in Hanover and it lives at the FAMOUS.



Oh yeah and in the Hatfield and McCoy battle that is Easton vs. Hanover family hot dog wars. Hanover wins.....

Inspired.

I've got a few cookbooks. OK, that's bullshit. I've got more cookbooks than a Barnes and Noble. Period. AND, I've read most of them. So, suffice it to say, I've 'been around the block' with regards to cookbooks. I have my favorites and it's not easy to break into that group.(it's surprisingly small) Yes, I've got all the Ducasse books....Helene Darroze? Check. Anne Sophie Pic? Check. Herve This?(are they cookbooks or science books....) Check. Pierre Herme? Check. So, what are my favorites? If you knew me, you'd know.

When I first started cooking I was inspired by one book. Patrick O'Connell's Inn at Little Washington Cookbook. Not surprisingly, I ended up cooking there and learning the daily 'in's and out's' that went into building the nuts and bolts behind that book. That singular book drove me in the early years of my career.

Now, many years removed from my time at The Inn at Little Washington, I'm back in Hanover, the town where I grew up, and I'm trying to build a sense of regional cuisine that people from all over the US and abroad can identify as truly 'of our area'. Promoting the terroir, if you will.

A book landed on my doorstep this morning that has touched me in a way that no other book has in many years. Yes, I've read this hot book or that celebrity chef book, but nothing has moved me as much as this book. It's the closest thing that I've experienced since I opened the cover of Patrick's book nine years ago.



Sam Beall has created a cookbook that, although I'm not even close to finishing, provides an instant 'sense of place' and transports the reader to the east Tennesse foothills that he obviously loves so much. This book takes you there. Makes you want to eat the food of the foothills and does so by telling such an amazing story.

I've not really started to 'dig in' to this book, but I will say this: It's already speaking to me.

America is blessed with a diverse culture, which has spawned an amazing array of regional cuisines; many of which we are still waiting to discover in their contemporary iteration. It doesn't matter if it's Creole, Southwestern, Tennessee Foothills or wonderful central Pennsylvania. Each has its spokesperson and leader and with this book Sam Beall has transported me to east Tennessee.

Do yourself a favor and BUY THIS BOOK.

Disclaimer: I've never met Sam Beall. Have only visited Blackberry Farm once for about 30 minutes. Am getting no compensation for this post. THE BOOK IS JUST THAT GOOD. However, if as a result of this post, someone from Blackberry Farm would like to invite me to do a guest chef dinner at said property....I'd certainly have to give it some consideration. :-)

Simple Pleasures

Here's the thing....when friends visit the restaurant, many times they come bearing gifts for the kitchen.(which we REALLY appreciate). I'm not talking about Mauviel cookware or socks. No, I'm talking about the simple pleasures that really light the twinkle in obsessive, hungry and thirsty cook's eyes. An example is perhaps a case of National Bohemian beer.....or the ever popular Nutter Butter cookies. However, when friend and fellow blogger Carol Blymire visits, she always showers us with the third of my obsessive food and drink trifecta, Pop Tarts.(She's been able to source dulce de leche and blueberry muffin pop tarts....wha?) Yes, the guys cooking the foie gras, truffles and south central PA's most amazing meats and produce are overcome with joy at the sight of a $12 case of beer, peanut butter cookies and toaster 'pastries'....oh yeah, just a small detail, we rarely even toast the Pop Tarts, just open the package and eat them raw. A delicious snack for the cook on the run. So, with that, I give you my very own discovery .....Gingerbread Pop Tarts.(who ever said I couldn't source great products?) I'll report back as to just how delicious they were.